


Building A Life

by RustyEyron



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, M/M, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-05 18:43:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5386415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RustyEyron/pseuds/RustyEyron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When it is declared that 'shifters' are to no longer have the rights of human citizens, life for many is turned upside down. A young Ichigo must grow up quickly in this new world and rebuild his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fanfic is so many years! Hopefully it goes well :D

The insistent banging on the door downstairs was what had originally woken the young boy up. What kept him up was his father bursting into the room, a look of panicked urgency on his face. He grabbed the clothes thrown over his son’s chair ready for the weekend and told him to get dressed while he rummaged through the closet to find a coat.

“Hurry up, son,” he whispered, quickly pushing the correct arms into the correct holes in the shirt after noticing the boy had gotten in a tangle.

“But dad,” the boy complained, rubbing his eyes, “It’s still dark outside.”

“I know Ichigo, but this is important,” the man grabbed his son’s arm and pulled him out of his room. Before he knew what was happening, Ichigo was being pushed through the door that led into the small storage cupboard at the top of the stairs.

“Dad, wha-”

“Quiet Ichigo,” the boy looked up from inside the cupboard as his father knelt in front of him, “Listen son, this is really important. Can you stay really quiet for me? No matter what happens, just stay really still and quiet. Can you do that for me?”

Scared by the determined look on his father’s face, Ichigo simply nodded with wide eyes. A crash from downstairs made them both jump and the man suddenly stood up, closing the door to the cupboard. Enveloped in darkness, Ichigo could only sit there and try to follow his father’s instructions. The fear in his voice and tenseness of his body meant that Ichigo didn’t even question what was happening. He was beyond confused, but too scared by his father’s fear to do anything about it.

It seemed like every sound below was amplified by the darkness; his ears making up for what his eyes couldn’t do. The pointed ears covered in small orange fuzz atop his head dropped to the sides when he heard his mother’s sob above the murmuring below. His mother had been uneasy over the last few weeks. He didn’t know why but more than once he’d found his father comforting her before they noticed him and put on fake smiles.

“Where’s the boy?” an aggressive voice came up the stairs, moving closer.

“He’s not here,” Ichigo’s father was also coming back, his voice angrier than Ichigo had ever heard.

“Don’t lie to me, it won’t work,” came the response.

“Please!” Ichigo’s mother jumped into the conversation. A crash, a sob and the sound of a scuffle came again, “Please, not him. Take me, he doesn’t deserve this!”

“You’ll both be going,” the stranger’s voice boomed now that it had reached the top of the stairs, “If you don’t stop resisting you’ll end up much worse than necessary.”

A moments pause came before the cupboard door swung open.

“There you are,” a large man sneered down at him, muscles bulging beneath his too small uniform. His sweaty brow took up too much of his face, making him look more like a gorilla than a man. Ichigo whimpered and shrunk back against the cardboard boxes he’d been sat between but the stranger just stuck out a large hand and grabbed his shirt. He was yanked from his hiding place and shove into the firm grip of another terrifying stranger. Ichigo’s tail was tucked as far between his legs as it would go, his ears down and eyes wide. He saw his father being restrained by two more men. His mother was kneeling on the floor, tears streaming down her face and clutching her bleeding tail.

“Mummy,” Ichigo called out in distress, trying to wrestle out of the stranger’s grip to get to her. He didn’t understand what was happening and was so terrified he was in serious danger of wetting himself in front of all the adults.

“Not my son,” his mother called out, pulling herself to her feet and attempting to move toward him.

“Masaki, no!” his father’s shout came too late. One of the men had already pulled out a gun and the bullet had pierced her heart before she’d finished speaking. She teetered for a moment at the top of the stairs before a cough left her lungs accompanied by a splatter of blood. The man holding the gun simply sneered and sent out a kick aimed at Masaki’s knee. Her husband struggled against the pair holding him back while Ichigo could only look on in shock as his mother was sent flying head first down the stairs. Her body lay still at the bottom.

“You bastards,” Isshin’s voice came out almost like the snarl only his son and wife were capable of, “How could you-“

“No!” the man gripping Ichigo interrupted, “How could _you_? _You_ bred with that animal and created _this_.” He shook Ichigo hard enough that the boy let out a cry of pain.

“This is your fault,” the original man who’d yanked Ichigo from the cupboard continued his coworker’s statement, “Just be glad your daughters came out as normal humans. At least you get to keep them.”

Ichigo was dragged down the stairs, past his mother who still lay on the floor, and out onto the street. Out there there were multiple vans, the sounds of crying and screaming and the general hum of confused conversation.

“Dad!” Ichigo shouted out, tears streaming down his face, “Dad, I don’t want to go with them! Dad, where’s mum? Dad, help me!” He twisted his head back to see his father trapped behind guards at the door as the stranger continued to drag him further away from his home.

“Stop squirming and get in there,” the stranger commanded as he opened the back of one of the vans. Ichigo yelled out as he was forced inside, the door being slammed behind him. He blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the low light levels, and took in his surroundings. There were ten shifters crammed into the van with him. Most looked as scared as he felt.

“Oh great,” an old man in the far back muttered, ears drawn back aggressively, “They’re even lumping hybrids in with us now.”

“Shut up,” the woman to Ichigo’s right snapped, “Now isn’t the time for your prejudices. Can’t you see how scared the poor kid is?” She looked up at Ichigo and patted the floor next to her, “Come and sit down.”

Shaking where he stood and in shock about the sudden events of the last few minutes, Ichigo was unable to move until the van jolted to a start. He stumbled, almost falling into the woman’s lap, and scrambled back until he was sat tucked as far into the corner as he could be.

“I’m Yoruichi,” she smiled at him, giving the space he obviously needed for now, “Don’t worry, I’ll look after you.”

It took Ichigo almost a full day to mutter his name to the woman who refused to let him out of her sight. By that time Karakura was long gone and they’d been shoved into a large city fenced off by barbed wire that ran as far as the eye could see. The last thing Ichigo saw before the gate shut on the group he’d travelled with was the sneering face of the man who’d shot his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate and take on board all reviews!


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character is introduced!

Ichigo stared up at the wire fence that loomed over him. The barbs cast spiked shadows across him, enlarged by the beams of the setting sun. The red glow of sunset cast a dance of bloody fingers over the ground, reaching for the shifters. The evening was full of an eerie tension that froze the young boy to the spot, shivering as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The creak of a rusty hinge to his right made him jump and turn his head to look as the gate opened. It was also made of wire, entwined around a thin metal frame. The gate and fence were clearly not designed for keeping shifters in. No, they were just a warning. The real cage they were being held captive by was the twelve foot stone fall a few metres away on the other side of the fence, topped with large metal spikes that even the most agile among them would struggle to get past.

“Kisuke!” Yoruichi was suddenly gone from Ichigo’s side, quickly walking towards the van that had entered through the gate as the one they had travelled in left.

Panicked, Ichigo cried out and jumped into movement and ran after the only person who’d shown him kindness in the last twenty hours. He grasped the hem of her shirt so as not to lose her as she walked over to where the armed humans were directing a group of shifters off the van. A blonde man with an unnervingly serious expression on his face looked up, his expression morphing into that of delighted relief as he spotted Yoruichi. His ears, floppy canine ones in contrast to the triangular feline ones of both Yoruichi and Ichigo, perked up and his tail, similar in shape to that of a retriever in contrast to the others’ leopard shaped tails, began to wag.

“Oi,” one of the humans jabbed at Kisuke with the butt of her gun, “The fuck do you have to be happy about? Stay in line, freak.”

Yoruichi’s lip curled up in a snarl and she moved to intervene, but the tug on her shirt caused her to pause and look down. Ichigo’s wide, fearful brown eyes stared up at her and she refrained. The humans were just waiting for a reaction from the shifters and if Yoruichi planned on keeping her promise to look after Ichigo then she’d have to make sure not to get on their bad side.

Only when Kisuke moved out of reach of the humans, away from the fence, did Yoruichi continue forward. Towing Ichigo along, she drew him into a big hug. In any other situation she may have been ecstatic enough to purr, but there was still danger surrounding them so her body remained mostly tense.

“Well then who have we got here?” Kisuke mused as he spotted Ichigo.

“My name’s Ichigo,” he told the man.

“He’s going to be in our care now,” Yoruichi told him, sending a pointed look. Understanding dawned on Kisuke’s face and he nodded, looking back down to Ichigo.

“Well, Ichigo, we’re going to have to teach you to be strong now, aren’t we?” Kisuke told him, “Look at your tail all tucked between your legs; you look weak. That may have been okay where you come from, but I can guarantee that a lot of shifters here won’t see it as very endearing.”

Yoruichi laughed and whacked the man over his head. “Give the boy at least a day before you start with your old teaching,” she told him, “We’re all going to need some time to adjust here, even you.”

“Hey, you lot,” one of the humans approached them, “Get over there to be registered.” He gestured in the opposite direction to the fence, where a row of tables were set out and a group of stern looking people were stood with large machinery behind them.

“What are they wanting now?” Yoruichi snarled under her breath as they followed the man’s instructions. For now they had unanimously agreed it was better to just follow what they were told until they could gather their thoughts by themselves. They were separated when they got to the tables, each surrounded by a few humans with gloves on. Ichigo whimpered when on grabbed his arm and slammed it wrist up on the table. Sets of hands were placed on him, holding him firmly in place, as another person came up with one of the machines. The mechanical whirring sound that suddenly started up made the boy struggle and try to get away, but to no avail. The stranger bent over and touched the machine to Ichigo’s wrist, who cried out at the feeling. It was like a hot scalpel was being dragged down the skin of his wrist.

Not knowing how much time had passed, tear stained Ichigo was eventually pushed towards the city, away from the fence and on the other side of the tables. There he was pulled into a hug by Yoruichi, who dragged him further away from the humans with a snarl, fierce glare in her eyes.

“Let me see,” she whispered, bending down to gently turn over his arm and get a look at his wrist. Emblazoned in black ink on the inside of his wrist was the number ‘3600’. “It’s the same as ours,” she nodded to Kisuke, “We’re being branded like cattle so they know where we originate from.”

A group suddenly began shouting a few metres away and all three shifters looked in that direction. The humans there had their guns poised to shoot while the shifters all looked ready to pounce and kill.

“We won’t be treated like this,” one snarled, leaping from the group to claw at the face of the nearest human only to be shot down a moment later. The act caused a roar of outrage from both sides and suddenly ten shifters bore down on the humans, outnumbered. Most of the shifters stayed back, watching with wide eyes. They’d had normal lives, jobs and children just a few days ago, but now people they’d lived near were being shot down and the rest were being locked behind the fence, caged like animals. Yoruichi stuck out an arm protectively in front of Ichigo and looked to Kisuke.

“We need to move away from here,” she told him, “There’s nothing we can do right now.”

“I agree,” he nodded, looking down at Ichigo, “It would be dangerous to stay, they could use it as an excuse to turn on us. Come on.”

The pair turned away from the fence, looking to the city that would now be their home. At first glance it was an array of poorly constructed wooden and stone buildings. Some were higher than others, built up in different layers of different stability. There were dust streets, some so narrow only one person could squeeze through at a time and others that would be able to accommodate the width of at least two large cars.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter where we go,” Kisuke jumped as another gunshot went off, looking back over his shoulder at the scene as the three of them headed towards one of the streets, “Nobody knows what this place is like, but we’ll be safer walking than staying here.”

Ichigo tried to turn and see what was happening behind them as they walked away but was stopped by Yoruichi. Caught up in what was going on, he hadn’t had time to think about it. Now, however, walking down the empty track between derelict buildings with two practically strangers, the events of the last day caught up with him. His lip started to quiver as he looked around. He’d never been away from Karakura Town before and yet now here he was, separated from his family, tired and in pain. He was too young to understand what was happening, but was old enough to know that if the adults were this riled up then it was serious.

“I…I w-want to go h-h-home,” he whimpered, feet beginning to drag as he started freezing up with fear, “I w-want my mummy.”

Yoruichi turned and knelt in front of him so that he’d be less intimidated. “Ichigo, how old are you?”

“Six,” he replied, looking down to the ground, tears starting to fall again.

“Too young to have any scent glands,” Kisuke told Yoruichi, “Also too young to show his Status yet. There’s going to be no quick assurance or comfort for him.”

“We’ll manage,” Yoruichi replied, “Besides, with how little humans allow us to be taught as children he probably doesn’t know much about the Status’ of his family so it won’t help us give him a familiar comfort method.”

Suddenly a large group appeared at the end of the seemingly abandoned street they’d found themselves in. Some were running on two legs, others springing along on four with claws out and snarls on their faces. All were shouting, either laughing or growling angrily, and all set the trio on edge. “If civilisation’s abandoning us, we’ve got no reason to be civil!” One of them shouted, the others cheering, pushing and shoving each other as they ran through the street. They got closer and weren’t slowing down. It looked as though they planned on running through the trio before them.

“Quickly,” large hands grabbed them, pulling them towards a nearby building, “Get inside.” Preferring whatever lay inside to the thought of coming face to face with the group heading their way, Kisuke and Yoruichi turned and followed the man who’d suddenly appeared, taking Ichigo with them. One moment Ichigo was staring at a tall rabble of people running his way, the next he was plunged into darkness as a door slammed on him.

Ichigo blinked, eyes darting around the room as they very quickly adjusted to the sudden change in light. A tall, canine subset of shifter stood before them. He had dark hair and a moustache that overpowered the rest of his features. His ears were pointed, like a doberman’s, and his expression stern. Ichigo cowered away, hiding behind Yoruichi who laughed at him.

“Thank you,” Kisuke told the man, “It’s good to see someone capable of retaining a shred of civility. I’m Kisuke, and this is Yoruichi and Ichigo.”

“Tessai,” the man replied, nodding. He silently walked over to the shuttered windows and cracked the shutter open slightly so peek out. After a moment he shut it again, turned and moved to the corner of the empty room. He sat there, cross legged, and then looked at the trio still stood by the shut wooden door. A gesture of his hand was all he provided, waiting for them to take up his offer to join him on the floor in their own time. Kisuke moved first, falling to the floor with a relieved sigh, followed by Yoruichi. Ichigo quickly stepped after them and dropped down, still suspiciously eyeing Tessai.

“Stay here for a while,” Tessai grunted, “It won’t be safe outside.”

“I suppose some shifters will go a bit mad for a while,” Kisuke mused, “Your suggestion’s for the best; who knows how people are going to react. We’d best wait somewhere sheltered until the dust settles.”

“We can use the time to get some rest,” Yoruichi agreed, “and figure out where to go now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've had a mind blank and forgotten what the term is for whether you're an alpha, omega or beta so I've just called it Status. If anyone can tell me what the actual common term is then I'd be grateful XD   
> Hope you guys liked this! Reviews help me improve ^^


End file.
